airport amenities

Roundup: Best Airport Amenities 2024

The Stuck at the Airport team, like Santa, keeps a list of airports that are very, very good.

And we’re happy to share our round-up of some of the best airport amenties we spotted in 2024.

If we missed your favorite, let us know!

Note: our first first appeared on the The Points Guy site in a slighty different format.

Surprise and delight events at IND’s Civic Plaza

While most airports have put key services and amenities behind security, Indianapolis International Airport (IND) maintains an active and inviting pre-security central hall called the Civic Plaza that has a 35-foot-high ceiling, a 5-story window wall and plenty of dining, shopping and art.

And they put it to clever use.

In January, when Indianapolis hosted NBA All-Star Weekend 2024, a full-size (94 by 50-foot) replica of an NBC basketball court made with vinyl adhesive appeared in the Civic Plaza. Free throws and pickup games were not allowed, but it was a big hit.

When Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour came to town in November, the airport turned Civic Plaza into Swift City, complete with Girl Scouts making and handing out friendship bracelets, a 30-foot-tall image of Taylor Swift, live music, concert-themed menu and limited-time souvenirs.

And in December, Santa Claus did a practice run at IND, racing across the taxiway in a firetruck and entering Civic Plaza on an airport-themed carpet.  

SFO’s Silent Disco

In keeping with its status as a “quiet” airport with minimal overhead announcements, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) introduced a silent disco in February appropriately dubbed the “San Fran-disco.”

For a month, passengers were invited to let their hair down and dance along to San Francisco-themed music using their own headphones in a specially decorated post-security area of Harvey Milk Terminal 1.  

Out of this world rocks land at Portland International Jetport

In March, airports in and around the path of totality for the April 8th total solar eclipse were gearing up for an influx of passenger traffic.

Building on the excitement, Maine’s Portland International Jetport (PWM) debuted an exhibit of 18 meteorites. Titled Fly Me to the Moon, the exhibit includes meteorites on loan for 5 years from the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum’s world class meteorite collection. The specimens include the second largest piece of moon on Earth, pieces of Mars and an iconic Gibeon meteorite that looks a lot like Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”

Airports get silly for April Fool’s Day

Many airports around the country lean into April Fool’s Day.

This year Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) shared a photo of a plane entirely covered in sticky notes.

Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) introduced Travel Tubes, a “human pneumatic tube system allowing you to pre-check in the Ticketing Hall and then whiz straight to the gate.”

And Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) teased the opening of an underground tunnel with a major art installation titled “River Tunnel” by claiming that the tunnel would be filled with water. “Disneyesque-type boats will replace moving walkways and paddles will be provided for passengers who want to row their own boats,” SLC claimed.

More ways to visit airports without a ticket to fly

 

A growing list of airports offer gate pass programs that allow non-ticketed guests to go through the TSA security checkpoint to greet an arriving passenger, spend more time with a friend or family member or just hang out in the terminal enjoying the art, shops and restaurants. You can apply for a gate pass at airports in Seattle, New Orleans, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Orlando and in a handful of other cities.

In July, Nashville International Airport (BNA) became the latest airport to come onboard with its version of the gate pass program. The BNA Passport gives non-ticketed passengers the opportunity to enjoy the airport’s robust offering of live music on multiple stages and its ‘drinks to go’ policy which allows a post-security mosey around the airport with a cocktail or beer.

My First Flight buttons at Norfolk International Airport

Your first flight on an airplane is a special occasion. No matter if it takes place when you’re a kid or an adult.

The team at Virginia’s Norfolk International Airport (ORF) gets that. And this year they bought a button-making kit so they could create souvenir buttons to help passengers mark and remember that giddy, special day feeling.

ORF’s “My First Flight buttons” are available at the airport information booth and the airport’s Volunteer Ambassadors have a stash as well.

Portland International Airport opens a tree-lined main terminal

In August, Portland International Airport (PDX) opened its expansive and reimagined main terminal designed by architecture firm ZGF. Part of a $2.15 billion makeover, the impressive forest-like pre-security space has a soaring timber roof, the latest in check-in and checkpoint technology, more than 70 live trees, more than 5,000 live plants and plenty of art, shops and restaurants.

Stadium seating in the main terminal are perfect spots for hanging out before a flight with friends and family or listening to live music. And there’s a treat in the lounge area atop each bank of seating. PDX has faithfully recreated the much-loved teal-and-purple carpet pattern that inspired thousands of shoe selfies.

SLC brings back its world map

In 2024, Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) completed the third phase of its redevelopment by opening a new underground tunnel, welcoming major new art installations and surprising the traveling public with the announcement that the airport’s iconic terrazzo World Map first installed in 1960 had been saved.

When the new airport terminal was being built, engineers announced that they couldn’t save the map. But they did. And the map is now back on view in the Concourse  B Plaza.

Long Beach Airports caps off its centennial year. With pickleball.

Long beach Airport ( LGB) celebrated it centennial in 2024 with a year-long campaign that included the reopening of its Historic Terminal, issuing a series of collectible series of posters in the style of  Work Projects Administration’s national park posters, installed a time capsule and by jumping into the pickleball craze with pop-up pickleball court, just in time for holiday travels.

Santa’s Layover Lounge at DEN Airport

And Denver International Airport (DEN) created a pop-up lounge for Santa and other weary travelers.

In addition to holiday cocktails and snacks, passengers can cozy up to the Rudolph’s Refuel Stations – a hot cocoa bar – through the first week of 2025.

Airport Amenity of the Week: Free Coat Check

We take a break today from sharing the latest details on the Southwest Airlines debacle to celebrate the Airport Amenity of the Week.

Free coat check at Wisconsin’s Appleton International Airport (ATW) isn’t brand new. But we just learned about it. And want to celebrate it as a great amenity that we hope other airports might adopt.

Knowing that traveling in the Midwest can be tough in the winter, Appleton International Airport offers free coat check service to all travelers.

Passengers can drop off jackets at the ATWExpress Park desk in the terminal before heading to their gates and pick them up at that desk on their return. Coats are kept safe in a storage room.

The free coat check service is separate from the ATWExpress Park service, which is a valet service that costs just $8 a day.

Coat Check Service at Milwaukee Mitchell Airport Too

Winter coat check service is offered at another Wisconsin airport too. For the fourth year, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) is offering a coat check service at the Summerfest Marketplace shop. Coats are placed in protective plastic before being stored away.

The service is not free. But it is a great deal at just $2 per day and a maximum of $10 per trip.

Here’s to many more great airport amenities that we can celebrate on Stuck at The Airport.com in 2023.

If you have a nomination for Airport Amenity of the Week, be sure to let us know.

2 airports are finalists for America’s Best Restroom

The list of the top 10 finalists for the 2022 America’s Best Restroom contest is out.

And this year restrooms at two airports are in the running to be crowned as the best throne in the country.

Newark Liberty Int’l Airport (EWR)

The Terminal B all-gender restroom at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is one of the airport restrooms nominated as an excellent example of how businesses develop and maintain innovative restroom facilities.

EWR’s new loo is in a 1970’s-era terminal departure lounge. The loo’s creative, gender-neutral design offers “potty parity” and means that more users can be accommodated than with a traditional restroom design.

The restroom includes areas for traveling companions to wait and for passengers to reorganize their belongings. Local imagery on the glass and tile establishes a sense of place. And sound and scent help create a calming environment.

Tampa International Airport (TPA)

The nominated restrooms at Tampa International Airport (TPA) are on Airside C.

These loos welcome travelers to a uniquely Florida experience with large graphics. A natural, deep blue stone with undulating veining is intended to be reminiscent of waves crashing along the shore.

“Once inside, large format tiles skin the floors and seamlessly fold up the walls, bolstering the well-lit environment and furthering a ‘freshly cleaned’ aesthetic,” the restroom nomination explains. “A wood-look wall tile adds warmth and softness for a balanced, resort-like feel.”

The vanities in these restrooms also offer TPA’s signature “cockpit” concept, which gives each guest their own sensor-activating sink and soap, personal paper towel dispensers, and a nearby trash receptacle.

The other nominated public bathrooms on this Best Restroom list include the self-cleaning restrooms at North Hollywood Recreation Center; prohibition-themed restrooms in Stone Mountain, GA; and a Japanese pub in Orlando, FL modeled after the green restroom seen in “The Aviator” film.

Here’s the image from the movie:

Here’s a snap from Orlando’s Tori Tori pub.

The public is invited to vote for their favorite finalist through August 31 here.

Which is your favorite?

Roller skating is back at JFK’s TWA Hotel

Fans of roller skating, fun at-the-airport activities, and the landmark TWA Hotel at JFK Airport (i.e.: everyone) will be looking forward to the return of the hotel’s retro-style roller skating rink.

The Roll-A-Rama at the Runway Rink opens for the season on April 15.

The checkered rink is located by the hotel’s 1958 Lockheed Constellation “Connie” airplane/cocktail lounge and is made up of 2,668 tiles.

The rink will open to the public on weekends only, weather permitting, through November 22.

Hours for skating will be Fridays from 4 to 8 PM and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 8 PM.

50-minute skate sessions will cost $20 for adults and $16 for kids under 12. The fee includes use of a pair of old-style four-wheeled “quad skates” (patented in 1863).

If you have your own roller skates, you are welcome to bring them along.

If you’re planning to go, note that admission to the rink can only be purchased by credit card and is first-come, first-served; no advance tickets are available.

And because that’s the way they roll, the TWA Hotel team shared some great roller skating factoids. Note that you can burn 350 calories in an hour of roller skating, so go ahead and have a retro cocktail in the Connie.

“The Phoenix” at PHX Airport & What We Learned About Lost Amenities

Few airport rental car centers are places you want to hang out in for longer than you have to.

But the rental car center at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is an exception.

The big, bright, open lobby has a cafe in the center with comfortable chairs and there’s artwork from the collection of the Phoenix Airport Museum all over the facility, including down the hallways that lead to the restrooms.

Here’s a link to a guided tour of the art on display at the PHX rental car center that’s yet to be updated with the newest and biggest installation: a three-panel mural by Paul Coze titled “The Phoenix” that is 75 feet wide and 16 feet high.

The mural was installed in PHX Terminal 2 back in the early 1960s. But when Terminal 2 was demolished, the mural was moved here. You can learn more about the artist, the images in the mural, and the heroic effort it took to safely remove the mural from Terminal 2 and reinstall it at the rental car center here and in our article for The Points Guy here.

But we want to take a few moments to talk about – and mourn – the amenities that were once in PHX Terminal 2.

What Once Was at PHX Terminal 2

When Terminal 2 opened at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in the 1960s it was one of the most modern airport terminals in the country.

PHX shared a list of the amenities at the new, modern, terminal.

In addition to a long concourse with 10 gates and an indoor (indoor!) baggage carousel, the terminal had a hotel reservation kiosk with individual phones connected directly to each hotel’s reservation desk.

Other amenities included a game room with pinball machines, a rooftop observation deck, shops, a bank, a barbershop, a flower cart, a cocktail lounge, a restaurant with a glass-enclosed terrace, and, up above, The Phoenix mural by Paul Coze.

All those terminal features were certainly swanky for the time. But what really caught our attention was the nursery where passengers and airport visitors could leave their kids while they enjoyed all the amenities in the terminal.

Over the years, many (OK, most) of those amenities were set aside.

And over time the terminal was remodeled in such a way that “The Phoenix” mural was no longer easy to see or fully appreciate.

According to Gary Martelli, Phoenix Airport Museum manager & curator, during the first remodel, in the 1980s, parts of the mural became obscured when the terminal ceiling was lowered, and the columns were rounded. In the 1990s, a new restaurant was built with a vent hood in front of the mural. Then, in the early 2000s, security enhancements created a long wall bisecting the Terminal 2 lobby and further obscuring views of the mural.

Now, in its new home in the southwest corner of the central escalator lobby in the PHX Rental Car Center, “The Phoenix” is easy to see and impossible to miss. Nearby are exhibit cases with information about Terminal 2 and artist Paul Coze, along with photos from the initial installation of the mural. As a nice touch, there are also viewing telescopes (at two heights) to allow visitors to take a closer look at the details and embellishments in the mural.